“The Dutch National Police have located Hansa Market and taken over control of this marketplace since June 20, 2017,” the message says. “We have modified the source code, which allowed us to capture passwords, PGP-encrypted order information, IP-Addresses, Bitcoins and other relevant information that may help law enforcement agencies worldwide to identify users of this marketplace.”

According to documents released by the DOJ, Cazes was using his computer and logged into AlphaBay under his administrator account at the time of his arrest. Because of the anonymous nature of the dark web, this was likely essential in connecting Cazes to the crimes he allegedly committed using that account. When investigating the creator of Silk Road in 2013, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation took pains to wait until he was using his computer and logged into the website at the moment agents arrested him.

We will update this story as more information becomes available.

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